Back to EveryPatent.com
United States Patent |
5,317,546
|
Balch
,   et al.
|
May 31, 1994
|
Time-of-use calendar events method and apparatus for a meter register
Abstract
A Method and apparatus for identifying events for making changes to a meter
register configuration. In the one embodiment, the method comprises the
steps of storing event data, including event dates, in a meter register
memory, the event data being stored in a floating date format or in a
fixed date format, and processing the event data to determine whether a
current date corresponds to an event date.
Inventors:
|
Balch; Richard A. (North Hampton, NH);
Mancuso; Marjorie J. (Exeter, NH);
Dastous; Susan D. (Milford, NH)
|
Assignee:
|
General Electric Company (Schenectady, NY)
|
Appl. No.:
|
086190 |
Filed:
|
June 30, 1993 |
Current U.S. Class: |
368/9; 324/103R; 324/116; 368/10; 702/61 |
Intern'l Class: |
G04F 008/00; G04B 047/00; G01R 011/57; G01R 021/00 |
Field of Search: |
368/9,10,11,28,29
324/116,103,142
364/481-483,492,569,705,715
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4187629 | Feb., 1980 | Yamada | 40/109.
|
4283772 | Aug., 1981 | Johnston | 364/900.
|
4355361 | Oct., 1982 | Riggs et al.
| |
4465970 | Aug., 1984 | Di Massimo et al. | 324/116.
|
4511979 | Apr., 1985 | Amirante.
| |
4754217 | Jun., 1988 | Germer et al. | 324/116.
|
4792677 | Dec., 1988 | Edwards et al.
| |
4807154 | Feb., 1989 | Scully et al. | 364/518.
|
4807155 | Feb., 1989 | Crez et al. | 364/518.
|
4819191 | Apr., 1989 | Scully et al. | 364/518.
|
4852030 | Jul., 1989 | Munday | 364/569.
|
4866611 | Sep., 1989 | Crez et al. | 364/974.
|
4908769 | Mar., 1990 | Vaughan et al.
| |
5040158 | Aug., 1991 | Lee et al. | 368/10.
|
5066906 | Nov., 1991 | Moore.
| |
Foreign Patent Documents |
0176338 | Oct., 1989 | EP.
| |
2069153A | May., 1985 | GB.
| |
82/02954 | Feb., 1982 | WO.
| |
Other References
Sangamo Energy Management Division, Product Bulletin 10506, ST-Q100 Series,
Electronic Meter, Effective Date Jun., 1987.
Sangamo Energy Management Division, Product Bulletin 10251, ST-Q120 Series,
Electronic Meter, Effective Date Aug., 1987.
Sangamo Electricity Division, RVl Multifunction Meter, Product Bulletin
10532, Effective Sep., 1989.
Scientific Columbus, JEM3, Sep. 1989.
Appalachian Technologies Corporation, SSM-SOT Four Quadrant, Time-of-Use
Precision Meter, Oct. 1989.
APTECH, Inc., PFM-800 Series Multifunction Meters, Jan. 1991.
Process Systems Incorporated, The Quad 4 Solid State Meter Family, May
1991.
Trans Data, EMS 7000 Electronic Metering System with Demand Register,
Publication Date Unknown, this copy obtained on May 14, 1991.
Trans Data, Inc. EMS 96 Electronic Metering System, Publication Date
Unknown, this copy obtained on May 14, 1991.
ABB Type E1R Polyphase Solid-State Watthour/Varhour Meter, Sep. 1991.
Schlumberger Industries, Inc. Introducing FULCRUM Commercial/Industrial
Meters, Mar. 1991.
Transmission & Distribution, May 1992, Universal Meter Introduced by ABB .
. .
Engineering presentation to AEIC/EEI Meter and Services Committees, Sep.
24, 1990, pp. 1-6.
European Search Report dated Jan. 11, 1993 of European Application No. 92
30 8647.
|
Primary Examiner: Miska; Vit W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 07/764,874 filed
on Sep. 24, 1991, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of measuring time-of-use of electric energy consumed by an end
user coupled to a power delivery system, the time-of-use measuring method
comprising the steps of:
formatting data within a storage device relating to a plurality of calendar
events, including year specific calendar events and annual calendar
events, said formatting step comprising the steps of:
formatting the corresponding months of said year specific calendar events;
formatting the corresponding days of the week of said year specific
calendar events; and
formatting the occurrence numbers of the days of the week of said year
specific calendar events; and associating a time-of-use function with each
year specific calendar event;
comparing a calendar date to the formatted month, the formatted day of the
week and the formatted occurrence number of at least one of said year
specific calendar events, to determine whether the calendar date matches a
a year specific calendar date;
receiving signals indicative of an amount of energy consumed by an end user
from a power delivery system; and
processing the received signals based upon the time-of-use function
associated with the matched year specific calendar event.
2. The time-of-use measuring method of claim 1;
wherein said formatting step further comprises the steps of:
formatting the corresponding months of said annual calendar events;
formatting the corresponding days of the month of said annual calendar
events; and associating a time-of-use function with each annual calendar
event;
wherein said comparing step further comprises the step of comparing said
calendar date to the formatted month and the formatted day of the month of
at least one of said annual calendar events to determine whether the
calendar date matches an annual calendar event; and
wherein said processing step further comprises the step of processing the
received signals based upon the time-of-use function associated with the
matched annual calendar event.
3. The time-of-use measuring method of claim 1 wherein the event data for
each calendar event is stored chronologically.
4. The time-of-use measuring method of claim 1 wherein said comparing step
comprises the steps of:
loading a table with at least the month, the day of the week and the
occurrence number of the day of the week of at least a next event to be
observed; and
comparing the calendar date with the at least a next event in said table.
5. The time-of-use measuring method of claim 4 wherein at least the next
four events to be observed are loaded into said table.
6. The time-of-use measuring method of claim 1 wherein said occurrence
number corresponds to one of a first, second, third, fourth or fifth
occurrence of the associated day of week in the associated month.
7. A time-of-use electric meter which measured energy consumed by an end
user coupled to a power delivery system, the time-of-use electric meter
comprising:
means for retaining a plurality of year specific calendar events in
floating date format, said floating date format retaining means including:
first memory means for retaining the corresponding months of said year
specific calendar events;
second memory means for retaining the corresponding days of the week of
said year specific calendar events; and
third member means for retaining the occurrence numbers of the days of the
week of said year specific calendar events;
means for comparing a calendar date to the month, the day of the week and
the occurrence number of at least one of said year specific calendar
events in said first memory means, said second memory means and said third
memory means, respectively, to determine whether the calendar date matches
said at least one of said year specific calendar events;
means for receiving signals indicative of an amount of energy consumed by
an end user from the power delivery system during the calendar date; and
means for selectively processing the received signals if the calendar date
matches said at least one of said year specific calendar events.
8. The time-of-use electric meter of claim 7
further comprising means for retaining a plurality of annual calendar
events in fixed date format, said fixed date format retaining means
including:
fourth memory means for retaining the corresponding months of said annual
calendar events; and
fifth memory means for retaining the corresponding days of the month of
said annual calendar events; and
wherein said calendar date comparing means further comprises means for
comparing the calendar date to the month and the day of the month of at
least one of said annual calendar events to determine whether the calendar
date matches said at least one of said annual calendar events; and
wherein said processing means further comprises means for selectively
processing the received signals if the calendar date matches said at least
one of said annual calendar events.
9. The time-of-use electric meter of claim 7 wherein the event data for
each calendar event is stored chronologically.
10. The time-of-use meter of claim 7 wherein said comparing means
comprises:
means for loading a table with at least the month, the day of the week and
the occurrence number of the day of the week of at least a next event to
be observed; and
means for comparing the calendar date with the at least a next event in
said table.
11. The time-of-use meter of claim 10 wherein at least the next four events
to be observed are loaded into said table.
12. The time-of-use electric meter of claim 7 wherein said occurrence
number corresponds to one of a first, second, third, fourth or fifth
occurrence of the associated day of week in the associated month.
13. A time-of-use electric meter which measures energy consumed by an end
user coupled to a power delivery system, the time-of-use electric meter
comprising:
memory means, in the time-of-use electric meter, for retaining a plurality
of calendar events including year specific calendar events and annual
calendar events in floating date format and fixed date format,
respectively, said memory means including:
a first memory portion for retaining the months of said year specific
calendar events and said annual calendar events;
a second memory portion for retaining the days of the week of said year
specific calendar events;
a third memory portion for retaining the occurrence numbers corresponding
to the days of the week of said year specific calendar events;
a fourth memory portion for retaining the days of the month of said annual
calendar events; and
a fifth memory portion for retaining weekend qualifiers; and
microcontroller means, connected to said memory means, for determining
whether a calendar date matches at least one of said calendar events,
based on data contained in said first, second, third and fourth memory
portions, said microcontroller means including:
means for receiving first signals indicative of an amount of energy
consumed by an end user from a power delivery system during said calendar
date;
means for selectively processing the received first signals if said
calendar date matches said at least one of said calendar events;
means for receiving second signals indicative of an amount of energy
consumed by an end user from a power delivery system during the day after
said calendar date, if said calendar date is a Sunday, and during the day
preceding said calendar date if said calendar date is a Saturday; and
means for selectively processing the received second signals, based on the
data contained in said fifth memory portion.
14. The time-of-use electric meter of claim 13, wherein said memory means
further includes a sixth memory portion for retaining consecutive day
qualifiers including a previous day qualifier and a next day qualifier.
15. The time-of-use electric meter of claim 14, wherein said
microcontroller means further includes:
means for selectively processing the received first signals if said
calendar date matches the day preceding said at least one of said calendar
events occurring on a weekday, based on said previous day qualifier; and
means for selectively processing the received first signals if said
calendar date matches the day following said at least one of said calendar
events occurring on a weekday, based on said next day qualifier.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to meters, and more specifically,
relates to providing a programmable calendar events feature in a meter
register.
B. Related Art
In known electronic time-of-use (TOU) meter registers, the register is
programmed with calendar events. Calendar events specify, for example,
holidays, season changes, and daylight saving changes. The number of
calendar events the register can observe is limited by register memory
space. Each unique event which must be observed for TOU metering requires
an allocated memory space. For example, if the register is to be in the
field for a ten year period, and if New Years Day is to be observed as a
holiday every year, then ten calendar events for each New Years Day are
stored in the register memory.
In order for the TOU register to continue proper operation beyond the
period for which calendar events have been stored in the register memory,
the register must be programmed with updated calendar events. As the
number of programmable dates per year increases, the number of years the
register can remain in the field without requiring a calendar update is
shortened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides means for representing a single calendar
event as multiple dates or a single unique date. More particularly, in one
embodiment, the present invention supports two types of calendar
events--annual events and year specific events. An annual event is
observed by the register every year the register is in the field. Year
specific events are only observed for the specified year.
By utilizing annual events, the number of calendar events required to be
stored in the meter register is reduced. For example, one annual event
could specify New Years Day and would result in New Years Day being
observed for every year the register is in the field.
The present invention facilitates reducing the number of times a register
must be programmed with updated calendar events. Moreover, calendar events
can be specified with greater flexibility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects of the present invention, together with further
features and advantages thereof, will become apparent from the following
detailed specification when read together with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the present
invention; and
FIGS. 2A-B illustrate floating date and fixed date formats, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now specifically to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram
illustrating one embodiment of the present invention. Particularly, a
meter register micro-controller 10 is illustrated as being coupled to a
memory 12 and a display 14. In operation, such as in TOU operations, the
micro-controller 10 performs a time/date keeping function and receives
meter measurement inputs from a metering mechanism (not shown). As is well
known in the art, the meter measurement inputs, for example, may be in the
form of pulses. Each pulse is indicative of a predetermined quantum of
energy which has been consumed.
The micro-controller 10 causes pulse counts to be stored in respective
memory locations. For example, if a pulse is received by the
micro-controller 10 during a first time period, the pulse count in a first
memory location may be incremented. If another pulse is received by the
micro-controller 10 during a second time period, the pulse count in a
second memory location may be incremented.
To obtain the TOU information, and as is well known in the art, a meter
reader couples an electronic data retrieving means to the meter. The
retrieving means then reads and stores the pulse counts in the respective
memory locations of the meter register. This information is then carried
back by the meter reader to a central location and processed further for
billing purposes.
In addition to time of day, the manner of storing pulses is dependent upon,
for example, whether the particular day on which the pulse was received is
a holiday or a "normal" day. The micro-controller 10 makes this
determination by scanning the memory 12 at specified locations for
determining whether the current date is an annual event 16 or a year
specific event 18.
An annual event is an event which is to be observed for every year the
register is in use. The year specific event is an event that is to be
observed only during a specified year, i.e., not every year the register
is in service. A year specific event is stored in the memory 12 in a
format readable by the micro-controller 10.
For an annual event, a date is specified as a fixed date or a floating
date. A fixed date designation is composed of a day of a month (1-31) and
the month (January-December). An example of a fixed date is December 25th,
Christmas. This calendar event is observed on the 25th day of each
December the register is in use.
A floating date designation is composed of a day of the week
(Sunday-Saturday), the occurrence of the day of the week (first, second,
third, fourth, and last), and the month (January-December). An example of
a floating date is the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day. This
calendar event would be observed on the forth Thursday of each November
the register is in use.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,
qualifiers are used to enhance the effectiveness of the calendar event
designation. One type of qualifier allows the event to be moved to the
adjacent Friday should the event fall on a Saturday, or the event is moved
to the adjacent Monday should the event fall on a Sunday.
Another type of qualifier allows the event to be observed on the day
preceding the specified date, or to be observed on both the preceding day
and the specified day, or to be observed on the day following the
specified date, or to be observed on both the specified date and the
following day, or the event, alternatively, could be observed on the
preceding day, the specified day, and the day following the specified day.
Other qualifiers, of course, may be used. General rules guide how
combinations of qualifiers should be used. The previous and next day
qualifiers, for example, should not be specified in combination with the
weekend qualifiers. Season changes and day light saving changes should not
be specified with multiple days. Also, only valid days of months should be
specified for the specified month.
The following Table I identifies General Qualifiers, Consecutive Day
Qualifiers, and Weekend Qualifiers.
TABLE 1
______________________________________
General Qualifiers:
MONTH JANUARY-DECEMBER
TYPE OF DATE FIXED OR FLOAT
DAY OF MONTH 1-31
(FIXED DATE ONLY)
DAY OF WEEK SUNDAY-SATURDAY
(FLOAT DATE ONLY)
OCCURRENCE FIRST, SECOND,
THIRD, FOURTH
(FLOAT DAY ONLY)
DAY LIGHT SAVING CHANGE
NONE, FALL, SPRING
HOLIDAY HOLIDAY TYPE I,
HOLIDAY TYPE II,
NO HOLIDAY
SEASON CHANGE SEASON 1, SEASON 2,
SEASON 3, SEASON 4,
NO SEASON CHANGE
EFFECTIVE YEARS 00-99, ALL
Consecutive Day Qualifiers:
SELECT PREVIOUS DAY YES, NO
SELECT NEXT DAY YES, NO
CONSECUTIVE DAY TYPE
INCLUDE, ONLY
Weekend Qualifiers:
MOVE FROM SATURDAY YES, NO
MOVE FROM SUNDAY YES, NO
______________________________________
FIGS. 2A-B illustrate a format for storing the floating date and the fixed
date, respectively, in the memory 12. Each entry is composed of four
bytes, The format of the four bytes is different for floating dates and
the fixed dates as indicated in the figures. Byte four (4) of both
floating and fixed date formats indicates whether the date is year
specific.
Prior to operation, the dates are stored in the memory 12. The dates
preferably are stored in chronological sequence so that the earliest date
in January appears at the beginning and the latest date in December
appears at the end of the memory block.
Once the date information is stored, and when the meter is in use, the
micro-controller 10 operates as follows. A block of memory (referred to
herein as the fixed date table) capable of storing, for example,
information for four dates is specified. The micro-controller 10
determines, for each day the meter is in use, the day and time, i.e., the
micro-controller 10 "knows" the current date. The micro-controller 10 then
loads the fixed date table with the next four dates, and corresponding
data, on which an event is to occur.
Particularly, the micro-controller 10 scans the first four bits (month
data) of the first byte of the floating date and fixed date data. If the
month of a floating date or fixed date corresponds to the current month,
then the micro-controller 10, knowing the current date and day of week,
determines the date and day of week for the floating date.
Starting from the current date, the micro-controller 10 then loads the
fixed date table with the data for the next four (4) events. A pointer may
be used to indicate where the last date was located in the memory 12 so
that when subsequent dates are to be loaded into the fixed date table,
rather than scanning each data entry, the micro-controller 10 can
immediately proceed to the data entry at the pointer location.
If the fixed date table is not completely loaded using the dates for the
current month, then dates for the next month are scanned and processed.
This process is repeated until the fixed date table is loaded, i.e., until
four (4) dates/events are designated in the fixed date table.
Just after midnight and for each day, the micro-controller compares the
current date with the dates in the fixed date table. When a match between
a date in the fixed date table and the current date occurs, then the
micro-controller 10 scans event bits to determine if the TOU schedule must
be changed (holiday or season change bits) and/or whether a daylight
savings change is to occur.
Once a date in the fixed date table is used, then the process hereinbefore
explained, beginning at the location of the pointer, is repeated to find
the next date/event to load into the fixed date table.
While the present invention has been described with respect to specific
embodiments, many modifications, variations, substitutions, and
equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the
invention is to be considered as limited only by the spirit and scope of
the appended claims.
Top